Comments about the Global Shipping Program

[kalvin@ebay.com]

Feel free to share your thoughts about the Global Shipping Program here. 

A few questions to get the ball rolling:

• What has worked well for you with the Global Shipping Program?
• Any ideas to help improve the experience for Canadian buyers?
• What has deterred you from buying items offered using the Global Shipping Program?
• How have you managed to search for items outside the program?

Please try & keep the comments constructive 🙂

If you have any questions about the program, please post them here.

[afantiques]

Such posts would be better placed on the US Seller Central board. They don';t bite, you know. Well, they do bite a bit but who needs two legs anyway.

If all the Canadian posters who berate US sellers went to post where there is some chance of US sellers seeing their posts, the posts might be something other than preaching to the choir.

[theoldestfart]

Plus in the case of the GSP I am out of pocket for the Import Charges. For small priced items it is not cost effective to send back a damaged item. The seller is just spending more money than the item is worth.

[theoldestfart]

I totally agree. eBay needs to get their act together wrt GSP. They need to come up with non legalize description of what happens in each situation i.e. SNAD, damaged goods etc.

The eBay Buyer Protection and PayPal Purchase Protection are designed for situations where a seller packs up an item and ships it out through a single shipper  i.e. USPS, Fedex or UPS. 

[rick31797]

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@theoldestfart wrote:

Plus in the case of the GSP I am out of pocket for the Import Charges. For small priced items it is not cost effective to send back a damaged item. The seller is just spending more money than the item is worth.

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Exactly. i have been there, a few times, even if they send you the wrong item, that's only worth 10.00. do you spend 6.00 sending it back, not likely.... 

Certain items i watch who  i buy it from, i once bought a 4 track digital recorder off a guy that sells an assortment of items.. big mistake.. to test it this guy would plug it in and watch it light up.. when i got it , it powered up, but would not record.. by the time i sent it back i was out 15.00 ... should have bought this item from a musician, that knows how to test it properly.live and learn the hard way.  

[pierrelebel]

"Canadian posters who berate US sellers..."

At the end of the day, the problem does not start with American sellers but eBay who was too eager to enrol American sellers in GSP without proper education, information and training.  On the contrary, eBay offered incentives to get sellers to sign up into a program often not designed for them and/or their buyers.  That was stupid.

Today when I look at most listings offering GSP on eBay.com, it only takes a few seconds to realize the seller should not be offering GSP of that listing, at least not when shipping to Canada.  While the seller may be wrong to offer GSP, I squarely have put the blame on eBay's shoulders from the beginning.  eBay should have done a better job telling American sellers when it made sense to offer GSP and when to avoid it.

And yes the folks at eBay do read these posts.  They are slowly but surely getting the message.

[bennett4612]

Hi theoldestfart. 

First off thank you afantiques for such a thorough explanation of how this stuff works. By my reading you are dead-on on all counts. 

A couple things I might add. First off, theoldestfart, as a Buyer you should not be out ANY import charges if an item arrives damaged or doesn't arrive at all (assuming the item made it to the US Shipping Center intact, Pitney Bowes and eBay is responsible for all refunds).

Second, at this time returns are not supported under the GSP. If the item needs to be sent back this has to be arranged directly between buyer and seller. 

Hope that helps. 

---Ben

[bennett4612]

Hello ghost_of_jane. 

First of all, really sorry to hear your item arrived damaged. 

As afantiques correctly points out, if the damaged occurred during international shipping you are entitled to a full refund. Please report the transaction through the proper channels and you should be covered in full. (All of this of course assumes that the item arrived ok at the US Shipping Center.)

Speaking of which, there are rare cases where parcels have to be opened at the US Shipping Center. A basic explanation can be found here:  http://blogs.pb.com/ecommerce/2013/07/17/global-shipping-program-faqs/

Hope that helps. 

---Ben

[theoldestfart]

First off thank you afantiques for such a thorough explanation of how this stuff works. By my reading you are dead-on on all counts. 

A couple things I might add. First off, theoldestfart, as a Buyer you should not be out ANY import charges if an item arrives damaged or doesn't arrive at all (assuming the item made it to the US Shipping Center intact, Pitney Bowes and eBay is responsible for all refunds).

Second, at this time returns are not supported under the GSP. If the item needs to be sent back this has to be arranged directly between buyer and seller. 

So are you saying that if an item indeed reaches a buyer and it is damaged and that damage did not occur in the journey from the seller to the KY center, that one does not have to return it to the seller? In such a case one will be reimbursed for the item's original price, the shipping to the KY center and all fees incurred and paid to Pitney Bowes including the Import Charges?

In the case of a damaged item where in the GSP does it specify whether the item has to be returned or not in order be reimbursed fully? I am asking because I could not find anywhere in the GSP regulations where it specifies what happens in the case of damaged goods. The  eBay.com Global Shipping Program Buyer Terms & Conditions is a legal binding document and thereby is what governs what occurs in situations unless it is specified or covered by a clause, damaged goods seem to be a black hole.

Per your own GSP rules http://pages.ebay.com/shipping/globalshipping/buyer-tnc.html

1. International Returns. The returns policy specified by your Seller in his/her listing description of a GSP Item will apply to your purchase of the GSP Item. For GSP Items that you return to your Seller, you will not be eligible for, and you will not receive, a refund of any Program Fees that you paid to Pitney Bowes. You may have additional rights under local law.

[afantiques]

Second, at this time returns are not supported under the GSP. If the item needs to be sent back this has to be arranged directly between buyer and seller. 

Let me make it clear here that bennett is only referring to returns due to normal SNAD problems like a rubbish item or the wrong item where the seller is what may be described as the guilty party. This is where your GSP purchase can really start losing you extra money. As usual, the return cost may be covered by a good seller who admits a mistake, but by ebay rules, you are on the hook for the return shipping otherwise.

The post I was replying to specifically referred to cases where the SNAD was due to damage in transit, and my replies addressed only this aspect. To bring in other types of problems will only confuse people. With all due respect. 🙂

[afantiques]

Second, at this time returns are not supported under the GSP. If the item needs to be sent back this has to be arranged directly between buyer and seller. 

Let me make it clear here that bennett is only referring to returns due to normal SNAD problems like a rubbish item or the wrong item where the seller is what may be described as the guilty party. This is where your GSP purchase can really start losing you extra money. As usual, the return cost may be covered by a good seller who admits a mistake, but by ebay rules, you are on the hook for the return shipping otherwise.

The post I was replying to specifically referred to cases where the SNAD was due to damage in transit, and my replies addressed only this aspect. To bring in other types of problems will only confuse people. With all due respect. 🙂

[afantiques]

I have no idea why that posted twice.

[theoldestfart]

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@afantiques wrote:

The post I was replying to specifically referred to cases where the SNAD was due to damage in transit, and my replies addressed only this aspect. To bring in other types of problems will only confuse people. With all due respect. 🙂

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 I agree. eBay should address only what happens in the case of damaged goods. They can address two situations. One in which the item was what was ordered but was received in a damaged state and one situation where the item was not as represented in the listing AND was received in a damage state.

[afantiques]

I agree that only ebay can do anything about this mess, but I think it does no harm to raise the profile of Canadian (representing most overseas buyer opinion, by and large) buyers on the US boards where US sellers have a greater chance of being made aware of what is going on.

[afantiques]

One in which the item was what was ordered but was received in a damaged state and one situation where the item was not as represented in the listing AND was received in a damage state.

I'd say 'damaged state' would be the recourse to go for. The damage would render it impossible to return the item to the seller in the state it was sent, thus nullifying the terms of buyer protection.

Since this state of affairs is unlkely to be common, as it requires two unusual events to occur in conjunction, the question may remain moot.

Any publicity of a policy of openended  refunds and non return of the damaged item would be tempting for the ungodly, so it is lucky that Canadian buyers are universally honest.

[wcplus8]

FYI...to ebay seller's asking for duty tax / import charges on check out! First off, if you are a private person selling on ebay etc.

you are Not legally bonded nor is it binding to request collecting Tax period...now with regards to import duty tax on original art / paintings there is No law for it in the USA or Canada; it's No duty / free of charge! Also tax is only collected by a customs office at Point of Entry...therefore Ebay and it's sellers are Breaking a Federal U.S. law as well as a Canada fair trade plus Free trade agreement... I mean What is going on here! Is Ebay now above the law? Or just plain greedy etc.

It's the Law and it's well in place and documented as such. The practices that are dictated by privateers such as Paypal / Ebay need to be addressed like Bernie Madoff and crooks on Wall Street.

[walker0017]

I would really like to believe that they are getting the message, but unfortunately if eBay was taking this seriously then they already would have fixed this months ago since all it takes is a simple change to an electronic program.

When I first started buying on eBay it was a good way to get hard to find items for a reasonable price, the last few years I have been getting better deals from non-eBay sources online. I guess this GSP is kind of the straw that broke the camel's back when it comes to buying and I guess I am not alone as I have read posts from buyers who have noticed a huge drop off in sales the last 6 to 8 months. As long as there are still a few sellers not using this program I will buy only from them.

[karl*katz]

Many US Businesses collect taxes and duties on behalf of the Canadian government.

And there are already numerous threads about the Global Shipping Program no need to start a new one.

http://community.ebay.ca/t5/Buyer-Central/bd-p/23003 

[femmefan1946]

Let's agree on something here,most Canadian buyers main complaint with GSP is that it makes the low price items  too expensive ,in other words,things used to cost less without the GSP.

And eBay does not actually encourage sellers of items valued under $50 to use the program. But they don't discourage it either.

Perhaps that fix could be as simple as the red box that tells sellers of stamps, WWII memorabilia, and Native American artifacts that they should be sure that the item they are selling is the real deal.

"We note that the asking price for your item is less than $50, and that you have opted to use the Global Shipping Program for shipping. You should be aware that your international customer will be charged duty and appropriate sales taxes on this item, which may be greater than the selling price of the item. He will then hate you and leave negative feedback and trash your Detailed Seller Ratings. But, your choice. It's a free country."

Or something like that.

[femmefan1946]

The seller does not collect the duty or tax. Notice that these are a different line item.

The bonded agent is Pitney Bowes.

The Point of Entry is in Kentucky, after which the parcels are in a "sealed" truck destined for Canada (or Germany or Australia or...)

Since you are not informed about these issues, I have to doubt your claim about "original art" being duty- and tax-free. Please post a link to the appropriate part of the CBSA and Revenue Canada websites.

I used to share retail space with an art gallery, and we often delivered each other's tax remittances. If we were not supposed to collect and remit taxes, he's going to get a lovely windfall from Revenue Canada.

[police_charger]

Item was handcuffs. No export permit required to Canada, all other countries yes. Pitney Bowes has deemed them restricted to Canada because they are an ITAR classed item. They never bothered to research and exclude Canada from the ban list.
EBay/PayPal refunded my money. Only resolution is I boycott all US sellers using the GSP.